Improvement in water-closet



JOHN KEANE, OFNEW YORK, N. Y,

Letters Patent N 107,178, dated September. 6, 1870.

{MPROVEMENT IN WATER-CLOSET.

The Schedule'referred to in' these Letters Patent and making peut of thesame I, JOHN KEANE, ofthe city, county, and State of New York, have madecertain Improvements iu Automatic Water-Closets, of which l give thet'ollowing description, illustrated by a drawing, and by letters andligures referred to .in these specifications.

lhe nature and objects of my invention are in the construction andcombination of the actuating apparatus, to compact it so that it willoccupy less space than heretofore, to make the automatic action morepositive and reliable, and to prevent the liability of the water runningto waste from the clogging up or obstruction ofthe device which controlsits flow, and at the same time to have` the closet so constructed withall its parts together that it requires only ordinary mechanical skilltoput it up aud keep it in running order.

The class of water-closets for which the apparatus of my presentinvention is intended is that wherein the weight of the occupant upon ahinged seat puts certain ot' its parts in that position, that the risingthereli'om will enable the other portions to complete the requisitemovements to cleanse the closet, and be vrestored to the severalpositions which its levers,

weights, and valves require, to make it ready for the next occupant; andall this without taxing the memory, skill, or manual labor ot' theformer one; cleansing the soil-pan when in the best position tobe freedfrom its foulness, and continuing the flow ofthe riusing water for adefinite time aiter ihe occupant has risen from the seat, and thus, notonly insuring very thorough cleanliness, but the closing ofthe orificeby the water, and preventing the escape of any etlluvia.

The means by which l eifect these resultswill be best explained by aDescription of thc Drau-tn g.

Figure l shows my invention in side views perspective.

A A is a cast-iron hopper and stand, of which the base B forms a part.

c is a tiange projecting from the rim of the hopper. Other projectionsor bosses are lcast upon the hopper at propel' points, for attaching themoving parts of t-he apparatus.

C is a stiff iron rod passing this flange c andthe boss or projection K,the upper end ot' the rod titting into a socket or other convenientattachment fastened to the u nder side ofthe ordinary hingedwater-closet seat, the lower end terminating in a piece of bronze orother metal, I), carrying the bolt or pin that slides in the slot aofthe weighted llever E E, this latter piroted atb.

The rod (l has fastened upon it, and made adjust-l able by means ot' aset-screw, the square collar F, one

side of which is beveled, as shown by the dotted'lnes l l.

The soil-pan, which is of the ordinary construction, v

(not shown in the drawing,) is pivoted at d, and is moved by the actionof the short slotted lever G, a piu or holt, e, attached to the lever HH, being the means of producing this movement.

The level' H H moves upon the center j, vand upon its long arm is castasmall trame, which carries a beveled headed locking-bolt, I, this beingthrown tin-ward by the spiral spring g.

lhe oiiice and operation of this bolt I will be ex plaiued further on.

The short arm of the lever H H is attached by joint to the plunger orshort rod h, this fitting with some free play into a socket-shapedpiston-rod t', shown also in section in fig. 2, this rod actuating theinterior lnechanism of the globe-valve or water-way, and theretardilig-cylinder, which I proceed to describe iu detail. This partot' the apparatus is seen in external form in iig. l.

J is the retarding-cylinder, whose office is to con trol the flow of thewater, and prevent shocks and concussions in thel moving parts connectedtherewith.

'r is a two-way globe-valve, secured upon the top oftheretardiiig-cylinder.

S is anletal cap-attachment to the globevalve,

through the center of which the socket pistou-rod tmoves. v

W W show the inlet and outlet-pipes attached to the globe-valve, butrepresented as brokenoi, because they may be connected wit-h the hopperand the main supply-pipe at any convenient points.

'l' he retarding-cylinder and valve are secured to the base B B at suchdistance t'rom the hopper as will al low the'lever E E to more withoutinterference. lhe center ot' it, ot' course, must be placed under thep'unger, which is jointed. to the short ann ot' lever H Figure 2 will beused to explain thedetails andoperation ot this part of my invention,the details being shown mostly in section.

J J is the retarding-cylinder.

V V, the two-way globe-valve for the water, and secured int-othe upperend ot' the retarding cylinder.

L is the valve which closes the water-way.

M is the piston of the retarding-cylinder, made tight two cup-shapedleather disks .or packiugs attached to the piston-head, with the cups inopposite directions.

N N is the pistou-rod, which operates both the piston M and the valve L,and is terminated nih a conical head, O. v 5

P is an elastic rubber diaphragm, interposed between the conical head Oand the rounded end of the socket piston-roll i, and secured iii placeby compression between the caps s and the end of' t-lie globevalvescrew.`

The use of' this diaphragm is to prevent leakage of' -water through theorifice iii cap s through which the hollow pistou-rod 'i moves.

1n is a spiral spring, abutting at its lower end against the nietalcollar R, which, it ivill be seen, lits closelyinto an enlargement ofthecylinder J.

rIlii'ough the center of' this collar, with a tight fit, the piston-rodN N moves.

rlhc upper end of the spiral spring in hears against the under sideofthe valve L.

Ihe lower portion of' the cyliiiderJ is filled with mercury, Q. 1

A small hole is drilled through thc piston-rod from beneath, leadinginto a larger one liuade from the upper side oitlie pistou,.shown in thcdark lilies 2 2, the small hole being about oneNone-hundredth of' auinch in diameter.

'lhc operation of the apparatus is as follows:

As seen iii tie. 1the parts are all in proper position for the occupancyofthe closet.

0n sitting down upon the hinged seat, the rod C is thrust downward,-moving the weighted level E lil upwardl at its weighted end.

Moving with the rod, the. collar I" thrusts back the spriiig-bolti tillit locks upon Vthe upper face of the collar. Now, on rising from theseat, the weighled ,lever l] eirries up thcl lever H by incausof' thespring bolt and collar, at the same time turning down the. soil-palithrough the intervention of the bolt or pin iii H. working in the slotin the lever G.

During these motions, which are gradual, (owing to the action of' llieretardiiig devicr,) the short arm of' lever fl presses down theplunger-h; this acting, by means ofthe socketpistoii-,rod i`,upo,n therod N N, opens` thc water-valve I., and presses the piston M iipoli themercury; this, slo'wly percolating through 'the orifice 2 2, allows thewater to be gradually turned oii aiul shut off, and continuing the flowl'or a definite period after the soil-pali has been returned to itsplace, which sdoiie when the spring-bolt slips from the ci 1.ar ili theupward motion of' the rod C; the objcct of this after-flow being to makea water-joint, to prevent the escape of effluvia. f

The tiliie during which these operations are colit-iiiued depends on thesize of' the orifice 2 2, through which, the mercury is transferredtroni the under to thc upper side. ofthe piston M, tlioilgli this` iiiayalsobe modified by llie position of the weight upon the level' E E Afterthe tripping of' the spring bolt from the collar, the fall of' the leverl-Ldraws up the plunger from the socket piston-rod; this leaves thespiral spring to carry np the piston-rod N N close to the valve L, whilethe mercury is, through the orilice 2 2, trailsfci red again to thehot-toni of the cylinder. While the water is flowing through the globe,leakage through the cap s s is prevented by means ofthe rubberdiaphragiu I. l

I aiu aware that automatic water-closets have been iliade before, andthat rctaijdiiig devices have been known, as inthe invention of' J.Downs, patented in England many years since, in which a fly-wheel andpinion-rack was used to iiiakc the action of' the pai-ts gradual; butthis was both complex and uncertain; and I have also received LettersPatent for inventions having the saine objects in view, as in No.8l,i5l, April 2l), 186%)aiul No. 90,453, May. 25, 1869, but the devicestherein described had defects which my pri-sent invention obviates Forinstance, iii my previous inventions, the retardiug-chaiiiber orcylinder has been separate and detached from the water-valve instead of'being connected; again, the ietarding medium which I formerly used wasoil, glycerinc, or water.

I found by experience that oil would become gumniy after a little time,and, its being lighter than water, prevents its useiii a cylinderconnected witha water-valve, as it would float olil in a lwaste-pipe.

Glycerine, being soluble, is subject to the. saule objection; and waterwould soon become so filled with sediment that the retarding-cylindei'would be inoperative, and I have found, in many years experience in themanufacture and putting up ot' water-closets, that whatever obstructs orderanges the flow and sluittiiig ofthe water with certainty is the greatcause of trouble in all inventions that I have ever met with or mademyself.

Agaiinthe retardng-eylilider in my former inventions was made with aside duct, regulated by a cock,

and I have found that giimining oil, viscid glyceriiie,

or water charged with sediment, would clog this duct so as to requirefrequent cleaning out.

vThe advantages which I elaini for my present invention lover my own orthe devicesof' others are. these i li`irstly, itis more compact,allowing the operating parts to occupy less space;

Secondly, a shorter travers for the-hinged seat, because the lockingbolt and collar will allow them to engage with less motion than in thegravity eat-cli Ihavc t lieietofiire used;

Thirdly, the spring-bolt or collar is more positive and reliable thanthe slide aiid catch above alluded ti and Fourtlily, the substituting ofmercury for the retardiiig medium allows the water-way or valve to beconstructed and operated in coiiiiectioli with thererardiug-cylindcr,for the vreason that, heilig of' great specific gravit-y, it will notfloat off' with tliewater, noi' become deteriorated by it; again, whileit has a sufficient solidify of body to clear from the orifice anyobstructions that may Agather there, its particles are so mobile that itdocsnot obstruetthc working ofthe piston, and the. right rate ofl flowheilig once established, this is liever changed by its becoming viscidorginnuiy.

l would here remark that all the parts of' thc retardiiig-cyliiuler andits details, as the piston, collar, spiral springs, and piston-rod,should be made of'iron aiul steel, or some metal which does not readilyamalgaiiiate with mercury.

l am aware that lnercury has been lused as a packing ill gaspi pcjoints, and also in the pump-valves of some. kinds of' philosophicalinstruments. Therefore, while I do not claim broadly an automaticwatercloset, noi' broadly a. istartling-cylinder for regulating the flowofthe water, nor of' mercury, as applicable to gas-joints andpump-valves,

W hat I do claim-as ilove] and useful, and desire to secure' by LettersPatent, is-

l. Ilie inclined-faced adjustable collar F andthe spring-bolt I, iiitheir combination with and relation` to each other.

2. These, iu their combinations with and relationsto the rod and thelevers E G H.

3. All these, in their combinations with and rela,- tious to therctarding-cylinder J, the globe or wat-crway V, and the operating partsthereof.

4. A water-closet apparatus, consisting of afbowl, levers E Aand II, andaretarding-valve, adjustable collai', and spring-bolt, constructedsubstantially as described, aiid iii which mercury is applied asai'etai'dini:r medium, as and for the purposes set forth,

JOHN KEANE.

Viitiiesses:

J AMES BELL, WILLIAM Bonner.

